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But when it comes to time away from the klieg lights, Smythe has perfected the art of distilling life into an impossibly minute space: a paltry 185 square feet.

And he’ll be offering these “big ideas with stylish solutions for small spaces” as a returning guest speaker at IDSwest Saturday and Sunday.

Having endured prices reaching “stratospheric” proportions in his hometown of Toronto (welcome to the long-established West Coast reality), the associate designer at Sarah Richardson Design expects it to be a “terrific” dialogue.

“In terms of our future as a culture, with space at a higher and higher premium,” he comments, “we all know we are going to be living a little larger in smaller spaces.”

But as a self-described maximalist who had lived in five-bedroom houses before, that did not mean necessarily going without. He still achieved his desire to be surrounded by many of his ornaments, books and furniture in the condo – the smallest space, he points out, ever featured in House and Home magazine.

“If I’m going to live large or live small,” he enthuses by way of a teaser for the talk, “I’m still going to do it my way. I set about challenging myself from a design perspective to see how I can live the way that I love to live, but scale it right down.”

That meant laughing in the face of the design bible’s go-to option to paint small spaces a light colour to make it feel bigger, for example. Boldly, Smythe opted for off black.

“I have a rebellious streak in me and that does translate to my sense of what is attractive,” he says, further explaining he was often leaving and coming home when it was dark. “It felt like a nighttime space, so I wanted to make it cosy in the evening.”

Carving out an individual look – with confidence – is key for Smythe. He wants to inspire people to hone their own opinions and refers to his own reliance on his burgeoning library of design books (detailing periods and styles, antique furniture, great designers) built up over the past decade.

“I’m the biggest cheerleader for self-education,” he says animatedly, adding that he follows the philosophy that if you want to be good at anything at all, you have to study the craft.

It’s the main reason, Smythe contends, why Richardson and he open their homes – for criticism — through media exposure.

“We lead a public life so that people can learn about design and decor — it’s certainly not to satisfy our own egos,” he adds. “In terms of learning, all you have to do is absorb it and then decide for yourself what parts appeal to you; having a point of view and developing your sense of style and taste is 150 per cent about education.”

Part of that education is to spot when a design or type of furniture is becoming popular – and working out how to riff on it, rather than copy it. Unlike a bank of designers, Smythe doesn’t view the word “trend” as a dirty word. However, he likes to add in the question: “How can we acknowledge the desire for something current and translate it into something that will last a little longer?”

Take a wine colour that’s currently raging in fashion, for example, and picture it being played out in a foyer Smythe is now working on in Toronto.

“They are calling it Bordeaux but we all know it’s burgundy: 1970s’ velour pantsuit burgundy,” he quips, before describing a vignette painted in a matte-finished, oxblood burgundy colour with traditional marble floor and crown moulding, an antique chest of drawers and mirror, and rounded off with a contemporary bench. “We’re introducing a colour trend in a very traditional and lasting way,” he opines.

Tapping into his opinions is effortless. Design peeves spark automatic reactions: A chandelier inside a lampshade, for example. (“That drove me bananas,” he says.“The original design was innovative but by the time it trickles down into the discount stores, it’s not worth indulging in”) and pieces not being authentic (“I don’t like knock-offs. I believe everyone can have the real thing – it’s a matter of patience or investment”).

It’s all an honest approach — as dedicated Smythe watchers will know, and this piece is hopefully revealing – in which the designer wallows. Often, of course, sprinkled with more than a dash of humour.

As he explains, both are central currencies in his interaction with Richardson. It’s also vital in all decor deliberations in general: Everybody needs that person who will tell you not to do something because it’s going to be a horrible mistake, he explains.

“It’s good for the show in terms of conflict, discussion, dialogue – otherwise I would just be a ‘yes man’ and that’s no fun to watch,” he says. “If you aren’t honest, you run into headaches and it stops being fun.”

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